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Description/Abstract

Citizenship is a statutory National Curriculum subject at key stage 3 and 4. The programme of study (QCA, 2007) proposes that effective citizenship education should develop social and moral responsibility, community involvement and political literacy. The curriculum is based on three key concepts: i) Democracy and justice, ii) Rights and responsibilities, and iii) Identities and diversity: living together in the UK. As practising caring and professional teachers we obviously have an important role to play in promoting these concepts among our pupils. Through our everyday interactions with pupils, we demonstrate ‘democratic’ values such as working together, listening to each other, respecting other viewpoints, trying to reconcile conflicting differences, and appreciating and celebrating that we are all equal yet different. To take the principles of citizenship seriously, we need to acknowledge the importance of pupil ‘voice’ by giving them opportunities to explain their ideas. Discussing how they plan to carry out an investigation or why they disagree with someone else’s findings is part of science, but it is also part of citizenship